Groton Dunstable Travel Basketball

January 24, 2016

Press Release

G4/5

The fourth-and fifth-grade girls got off to a slow start, falling behind 19-7 at the half against Nashoba. After regrouping, the girls turned it on in the second half, out-scoring Nashoba 11-4. It was not enough to close the gap, but it showed the team’s strength and resilience. Erin Ciarfella was cleaning up the boards and Liv Wadden scored some big second half baskets, to tighten the game. Final score 23-18, Nashoba.

B4/5

The fourth- and fifth-grade boys lost a hard-fought game to Mahar, 23-25.  Casey Trimper and Cooper Granville led G-D scorers with seven and six points respectively. Kevin Broderick added four points and a number of assists. Patrick Kelly and Connor Buchman were strong on the boards for Groton.

B5

The fifth-grade boys ran into an overpowering and talented group from Leominster this week at home.  G-D was able to hang around in the first half and make some key late baskets to head to the halftime break only down 20-15, but Leominster put together a 12-2 run at the start of the second half to put the game out of reach and eventually win the contest 38-24.  Wes Garibotto and Ryan Bushnell played tough defense all game long, and Finn Bernard and Nate Spinale had strong floor games for B5.  G-D stands at 5-3 and continues their tough string of games as they travel to Wachusett next week to play the only remaining undefeated team in the league.

G6

The sixth-grade girls team played an exciting game against Acton Boxboro, losing 22-17.  The game got away from G-D in the beginning of the second half and then they really buckled down and started to chip away at A-B's lead. Cassidy Lacombe led all G-D scorers with six points, Clare Joyce had five points, Rebecca Brennan scored four points, and Haly Buchmann scored two points. There was some outstanding rebounding by G6 notably Taylor Caldwell pulling down seven. Rebecca Brennan had six and Lidia Spada had five.

B6

The sixth-grade boys lost to Hudson 41-21.  B6 gave Hudson too many chances on the boards.  G-D rallied in the second half,  but the boys were down by too much to make up the difference.

The highlight of the day came from Jack Gerrish who scored nine, including a three pointer.  Foul shots were great – B6 put in 12 out of 16 attempts.

G7

The seventh-grade girls played a great game at Acton Boxboro, but came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard when the final buzzer blew. The final score was 34-24, with A-B on top.

G7 looked great in the first half as they scored first and maintained the lead throughout, until A-B tied it late in the half at 11-11. Aine Murphy, Sierra Wynn (three steals, one rebound) and Ali Vogel (seven steals, three rebounds, 11 points) took turns at the top of G-D’s 1-3-1 defense and kept tremendous pressure on the backcourt, forcing A-B into numerous turnovers or forced shots. G7 executed perfectly on its out of bounds plays, but the ball refused to fall for them, which proved to be the difference in the game. A-B converted on a few transition baskets and nailed key three-pointers in the second half to open up a lead on G-D that the Crusaders couldn’t quite overcome. 

There wasn’t a G-D player who didn’t give her all in the game. Notable numbers came from Katie Eberhardt (seven rebounds, two steals, seven points), Caroline Straw (four points) and Brenna O’Malley and Amanda Lacombe (six rebounds each).

B8

In a rematch of the first game of the season the outcome was similar with the eighth-grade boys coming away with a key victory. The G-D squad was only seven deep, but despite that, B8 was rolling early and took a 35-18 halftime lead. They scored off their defensive pressure and demonstrating patience against the Hudson zone hitting for five three-pointers in the half. B8 sputtered offensively in the second half, but held on to secure a 52-44 victory. Tim Stark was a most valuable player on both ends of the court, rebounding, assisting, and putting in 17 points. Tyler Peck led the scoring with 18, including a key three-pointer late in the game when Hudson was threatening. Charlie Willis hit for eight, all in that critical first half.